Powerful Stuff...

"Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. " James 5:13-16

For most of last week, I have been battling severe pain on the right side of my head.  Two nights I had a rash that was very painful under my right arm.  Went to Doc, ER, and talked to Doc on phone.  Put on 6 different meds... with varying degrees of help.  Was feeling some better on Friday afternoon after the last of the meds were added to my regimine.  And felt fine on Sat. morning but by the end of our leadership team retreat on Saturday, I was in severe pain behing the ear.  The lymph node there was swollen and very painful.  Nothing was touching the pain.  In addition on Sat. morning, I noticed that I couldn't spit and things didn't taste good as well as my lips on the right side were feeling numb.  By Sunday morning I was confident that we were headed to Bells Palsy...   And by this time the pain moved from behind the right ear to IN the right ear.   Feels like someone is sticking a knife in it. 

I had several offers from someone in the congregation to preach for me Sunday, even if at the last minute.  I am greateful for those offers! 

But I felt God had given me a message to share and wanted to do it if I could.  Talking was difficult and singing was nearly impossible. So, I thought...  I have annointed many people before, why not ask someone to annoint me.  That's what I did!  I asked a dear brother, who is a retired pastor to annoint me.  He called for folks to come lay hands on me and then annointed me and prayed.  What a touching experience!  So thankful that he was willing and that God moved! 

I was able to preach both gatherings with little effect from the bells palsy!  Which was my bold prayer!  Very Powerful indeed!  Thanks be to God!